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The President’s SAVE (Securing Americans’ Value and Efficiency) Award

July 15, 2010

4:48 pm

Last year, we announced one of the boldest and most far-reaching initiatives to improve efficiency and increase transparency in the federal government.

The hard work and innovative ideas of DHS employees have led to hundreds of millions of dollars in cost avoidances through the DHS Efficiency Review—from leveraging the buying power of the Department by consolidating software licenses to eliminating non-mission critical travel, posting publications online instead of printing them, and moving events and conferences to government buildings from private facilities, among many others.

These efforts helped capture the attention of the President, who established the annual SAVE Award contest last fall to identify the best ideas for saving money and improving performance across the federal government. Last year, more than 38,000 ideas were submitted government-wide in just three weeks.

DHS employees led this effort, submitting thousands of ideas, twelve of which have served as the basis for new DHS Efficiency Review initiatives in 2010, including paperless earnings and leave statements for employees across the Department; bulk purchasing agreements for furniture, non-military uniforms, and wireless communication devices and services; and reciprocity of security clearances for those coming to DHS from other federal agencies and law enforcement entities.

Now, the President wants to hear from DHS employees again about their Efficiency Review ideas for how DHS and the entire federal government can continue to trim costs and save taxpayer dollars.

I encourage all DHS employees to submit their ideas for the 2010 President's SAVE Award online at http://www.saveaward.gov/. The winning idea will be incorporated into the FY 2012 Budget, and the winner will have the opportunity to visit the White House and personally present his or her Efficiency Review initiative to President Obama. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, July 22.

Through the SAVE Award and the Efficiency Review, DHS employees have been a model for changing the way government does business for the better.For more information, go to http://www.saveaward.gov/.

Janet Napolitano

Published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C.